Chaeles a



A (No Modei.)

(LA. POST;

I RIG AND GEAR FOR GAPF TOP SAILS.

No. 381,278.' .BatentdlApry 17, 1888.-

UNITED ,STATES cHAnLns- A. Po'sn'oFNEiWYoRK, NL' Y.. Y

l,une AND GEAR FOR .GAFF-ToPsAlLs.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 381,278, dated April 17;, 1.988- f Application niet Augustana?. serial No. 245,910. (No model.)l y

To all whom/it may concern.'

Beitknown that I, CHARLES A. Pos/r, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of New York city, in the county of New York and Stateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Rig and Gear of Gaff-Topsails, of which the following is a specification. f y l My invention relates to improvements in the rlgand gear of gafftopsailswhereby they may be quickly and safely taken in without the ne'- f cessity of sending ua manY aloft, and without danger of -fouling With other parts of the riggi-ng,'by the use of which the sail may be sto wed below instead of Ybeing furled aloft. f

yBroadly stated, the invention consists in ati" tachln-g to the luft-rope of the top sail a series y of hooks, which at the time the sail is set are engaged with hooks on the top-mast; and as the sail ris hoisted each hook, carries its hoop wlth 1t as thegsail goes up, and when the sail is to be taken in upon slagking the sheet and halyard and hauling down on the tack'the hoops slide down on the top-mastfthe hooks disengaging themselves asthe sail comes down,`

the sail with the hooks attached coming down on deck and the hoops remaining at the masthead or foot'of the toprnast.

It is desirable that a top-sail shall set as flaty as possible, and to this end the luff of the sail `must be held as close to and nearly parallel with the top-mast as possible. Theordinary device for this purpose in this country is a number of hoops sliding on the top-mast, and itis in connection with these that I have described my invention. It is, however, equally adapted tofuse in connection with any other device sliding up andrdown on or along the top-mast.

In the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a plan view of the invention, the sail being set. Fig. 2 illustrates a single hook, showing the method of its engagement with the .hoop on the topmast. Fig. 3 illustrates a perspective of the hook, the shank of which is, for convenience, made concave, so as to receive the lud-rope.

In Fig. 1 I have'omitted'many parts ofthe rigging which are not necessary to an understanding of my invention in order that the drawing may be more clear; Prior to my invention gaff-topsails were bent andset in three ways. In the ordinary wayin` use in this/,country hoops sliding upon the top-mast were seized atproper interval sto the l lu-rope of the sa'il, which was thereby permanently fixedv aloftv and was of vvnecessity furled*v at the mast-head, necessitating the use ofclew# f y lines, either single or double, to clew it up or i l down, and aman aloft to furl it when itvwas to be taken in, the sail being exposedto the weather at all times, with the consequent liaf,

bility to mildew. Another way, commonly iny use inEngland, .has .been to dispense with hoops on the top-mast and to have a-series of vgrommets worked inthe lud of the sail and a lace-line seized to the ,luff-rop'e near the h ead of'the sail, and when `the sail was tobeseta man was sent aloft, who, as the sail was'hoisted, passed this lace-line around the top-mast and through these grommets successively, lhauling the line taut, and so hauling the luftof the sail close to the mast, and belaying the end when the sail was fully hoisted. This method'is slow, both insetting and taking inthe sail, and necessitates sending amanv aloft whenthe sailV is to be taken into cast off the Alineand i r`unlace the sail, whichis then hauled down on deck. The third way, commonly in use in small'craft, has been to bend the lufI offthe/ fsailto a pole or yard of thesame length, to

which two sets of .halyards running through blocks properly placed aloft were attached+- one near the top of the pole, the other near the foot. Thesail washoistedby the upper halyard, and the footof the pole hauled into the .heel of the 'top-mast by the other or lower j halyard, sometimes a man going aloft lto lash? the foot of the pole to the Ltopi-mast. yThis method Vnecessitates lanextra halyardand thel q 90;v I lble to foul both in setting and taking in the pole is awkward to handle and slow and liasail,`andwith this rig itis not always easy to make the sail set properly. y l

In small vessels particularly 'itisfverydei sirablev not to have to send a man'al'oft when taking in a top-saiLt A top-sail'is a lightsaill and a desirable sail to carry; but it would never be set when by theY impact of the'wind f -on her other sails-a small vessel was heeled to such a degree that ythe weightof a manV aloftAv would be a detriment or danger; but espef cially in racing, when it is necessary to carry` of the hook part ofthe piece a.

sail as long as' possible, sometimes a top-sail is carried until the ,weight of a man aloft to furl or unlace it is a dangerous thing.

By my invention I obviate all of the foregoing objections.

.Referring to the drawings,'A is the mast. B is the main or fore sail, as the case may be. C 1s the top-mast. D is the top-sail. Eis the top-sail halyard. F is the topsail sheet, and G 1s the top-sail tac-k. H is the lullrope attached to the inner edge of the top-sail, as usual. I are the hoops encircling the topmast and arranged to slide thereon, as usual. J are the hooks. They are attached to the lu-rope H at suitable intervals.

Any desired means of attaching the hooks tothe lui'jrope maybe employed; but aneficient means is to seize them to the luff-rope by seizings passing through the holes a a, as shown. The hooks consist of a vertical part, a', preferably concaved to fit accurately to the luiT-rope, which at its lower end is bent into the hook form, as shown, and a guard-piece, b, which may also` be concaved, if desired, to fit the luiirope, and which is riveted or otherwise attached at its upper end to the outside f This guard b prevents accidental fouling of the riggiugin the recess between the lul-rope and the under side of the hook at the part marked c.

The operation is as follows: When it is deslred to set the top-sail, arnangoes aloft to the mast-head, and thesail is hoisted by means of the halyard E, as usual. As it goes up past hlm, he successively engages the hooks J with the hoops I, which are resting on the cap of the mast, and they one after the other are carrled by the hooks up the top-mast until each n of the hooks has been engaged with its appropri'ate hoop and the sail has been fully hoisted to its proper position. The sheet and tack are then hauled taut, and the sail is thus set, the hooks J and hoops I holding its edge close to the topmast. The sail can now be carried as long as the boat will stand it, and when desiraarzva ing aloft for taking in the top-sail, and I also' do away with the pole or yard.

Having described my invention, I claim-- 1. Thedescribed improvement in top-sails, consisting in a series of hooks running parallel with the lui of the sail and open at'their Vupper ends, 4permanently attached to the lnff of the sail adjacent to the top-mast and removable therewith, as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The described combination in rig for topsails, consisting of hooks permanen tl y attached to the lud of the top-sail, and hoops constructed to slide upon the mast or its equivalent, the said hooks being detachably engaged with said hoops, substantially as set forth.`

3. As a newv article of manufacture, ahook, J, having a shank, a', running parallel with the hook and adapted to rest against the lui of the sail, provided with holes a a, substantially as set forth.

4. As a new article of manufacture, ahook, J, having a concaved shank to [it the lurope, provided with the holes a a, and a guard at the bottom to prevent fouling, substantial] y as set forth. i

5. As a new article of manufacture, a hook, J, having a shank, a', adapted to be fastened to the luff of a sail, and a guard, b, substantially as and for the purposes set forth Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York', this 29th day of July, A. D. 1887.

CHAS. A. POST.

Witnesses:

J. LANGDON WARD, PHILLIPS ABBOTT. 

